Queer Books by Edmund Lester Pearson

Queer Books Reviews

• 
  Joshua Buhs

  There's only one correct way to start this review: Pearson's book should itself be classed among Queer Books.
  
  Written in 1928 by a former librarian, "Queer Books" surveys book fads of the 1800s (and very early 1900s): temperance novels, patriotic oratory, overdone romances, etiquette, cranks, Victorian women at risk of being sullied, self-published enigmas, gift books, stories of true crime.
  
  It is true that not all of these genres are restricted to the distant past: a few--such as true crime novels--continue, and others--melodramatic romances--do so in slightly different form. But at the time Pearson was writing, these seemed, to him, past-their-prime, even if he forecast some would come back. (He whiffed on his guess that another decade would see the renaissance of the virtuous-woman-ruined novel.) Others, such as the temperance novel, are genuine curiosities, and it is interesting to see them recounted--though, to be fair, seeing even book genres well-known today as they were a long time ago is not without its pleasures.
  
  What makes this particular queer book work so well, though, is that Pearson is an excellent guide: humorous, arch, ironic, without being dismissive (in most cases). He is generally clear-sighted, and so even from the midst of prohibition can see just how ridiculous were the temperance novels.
  
  It's a fun read--a fun ride, touring a long-gone landscape.
• 
  Sarah Sammis

  Queer Books is a queer book in itself. It's a thematic review of the popular (and not so popular) genres of the previous century of American literature. As the book was published in 1928, the books covered are those from the 1800s. Although most (all?) of the books mentioned have faded into obscurity the cross section of genres hasn't changed much all these years later. The temperance books are akin to the recent rise in popularity of Christian fiction. The Crochets are today's Self Help Books. There is a chapter devoted to self published books, an industry still going strong. The book ends with a couple chapters of "Sudden Death" books which show that our interest in "True Crime" books goes way back. The only fault with Queer Books is perhaps a result of the space between me a reader of 2004 and the author of 1928; some of the cultural references have been lost over time making some pieces of the book rather dry reading.